Identification

Title

A new reference-quality precipitation gauge wind shield

Abstract

Gauge-based precipitation measurements suffer from undercatch due to the effects of wind, with solid-precipitation measurements especially susceptible to such errors. When it is snowing and windy, unshielded precipitation gauges can catch less than half of the amount of precipitation of a gauge that is protected from the wind. For this reason, the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN) developed a large, double-layer, wooden wind shield called the Small Double Fence Intercomparison Reference (SDFIR). In past studies, the SDFIR has been demonstrated to be the most effective wind shield in use in any weather or climate network, reducing solid-precipitation undercatch to less than 10 % in wind speeds up to 8 m s - 1 . However, the wooden SDFIRs are subject to decay, they are difficult to replace and maintain, and they hinder access to maintaining the gauge. For these reasons, a new precipitation gauge wind shield called the Low Porosity Double Fence (LPDF) has been developed for use in the USCRN. Tested at three separate sites chosen for prevalent windy and snowy weather, the precipitation measurements recorded within the LPDF compared well to the SDFIR. After more than 2 years of measurements, the total precipitation recorded by the LPDF at each individual site differed by +/- 1.2 %, and the total LPDF accumulation from all sites was 0.03 % greater than the SDFIR accumulation. For the measurement of solid precipitation, the LPDF-shielded measurements were statistically indistinguishable from those in the SDFIR shield, and the time series of accumulation from precipitation gauges shielded by the SDFIR and the LPDF were almost identical. This new wind shield is much smaller and easier to install and maintain than any other reference-quality wind shield for the measurement of solid precipitation and may be of use within other meteorological, hydrological, and climate networks. It could also serve as a secondary reference precipitation measurement for precipitation intercomparisons held in remote locations where the construction of a full-sized Double Fence Intercomparison Reference (DFIR) shield is not feasible.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7sn0f40

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2023-11-22T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact